I wrote this post to frame a Tweetchat on #bealeader, led by @gingerconsult. The chat focused on the need to transform education and how leaders from all walks of life could be involved in that movement.

Education Transformed

Educational reform, educational transformation, what exactly is the difference? What does it matter? Who should be involved in such a process? How do we go about changing what we have and know?

Reform means to bring about a change in order to improve; to make an institution better; to revise, reshape, remodel.

Transform is defined as making a thorough or dramatic change in the form, appearance or character; transfigure, metamorphose, overhaul, revolutionize.

Engaging in Educational Reform simply uses the current framework and remodels what is already in place or perhaps adds to it. This assumes that the underlying structure is sound, sturdy, has the fortitude to withstand the tests of time and change. It assumes that the basic structure works for most of the “clients” most of the time. It assumes that the educational experience provided by the current system provides “clients” with the necessary skills to contribute to today’s world, succeed in that world, and enhance it. It assumes that the system can support growth.

By immersing in Educational Transformation, we are starting at scratch and providing new creative possibility without limitation of a current structure for something so different and unique that it invites the world to greet and celebrate it, catch up to it, create more of it. Educational transformation invites all citizens to participate in a process that continually morphs as society, culture, and people change. Educational transformation allows for dreaming, innovation, creativity, trial and error, experimentation, and voice to all “clients” and stakeholders.

I believe it is time to take the leap of faith and transform our educational system. To me, this is both a frustrating and exhilarating period in education. There have been so many reforms over the centuries, but no real transformations. It is a slow process to “put the brakes on such a huge moving machine” and morph it into something completely different. It is exhilarating to think of the amazing opportunities there are to re-imagine the entire system! To create something that can continue to grow, morph and sprout without boundaries seems electrifying!

Methods and beliefs about teaching and learning are antiquated and not based upon current research on brain development. The brains we are trying to stimulate and open are different from the ones of even 50 years ago. Brain research adds a unique dimension to teaching and learning. Educators and scientists need to work together to hone the crafts of teaching and learning by using the discoveries as they happen in real time, and what better way than collaborating by using technology.

We have clearer fundamental understandings about the human capacity to learn, grow, change, create, innovate, collaborate, communicate, and design with audacity and freedom. These understandings must become part of our educational philosophy and beliefs about education in order for true transformation to occur. Using this fundamental understanding of the human capacity to learn and grow, work has been done to identify 21st Century skills needed for focus in education, yet we are still operating within an 18th Century system. There is little reason for many in education to innovate as it is not yet supported and sought. Standardized assessments lead to standardized teaching, skills and knowledge. If it is standard, it is not innovative and does not address the needs of the 21st Century INDIVIDUAL learner, teacher, business owner, entrepreneur, system, needs. It addresses only the standard average group.

Relying on trial and error, experimentation, and freedom to think outside of the “standard” are part of the amazing lifelong learning process. I believe that those seeking transformation in education today can be likened to the pilgrims who left their homeland seeking something new, seeking the freedoms that were denied at home, seeking to change the culture within which they were locked. In leaving what they knew, they created an incredible country with an innovative government that provided the freedoms all who had come to settle here desired and one that was alive with growth-oriented opportunities. We must all come together as one to design a system that produces citizens of the world with skills that can be applied in all cultures and in all “possibilities,” one that is free from the standard operating system.

The founding fathers’ original ideas were that an educational system should produce good citizens who had knowledge to make educated decisions about their country, their lives, their society. Now we must produce global citizens who can celebrate all individuals’ uniqueness as well as the positivity and importance of the oneness of humanity. We must produce citizens who can operate within a culturally diverse atmosphere to promote goodwill and Grace, wisdom and connection. We must build a system where people of all ages become lifelong learners with a passion for learning and creating a living, growth-oriented, collective and collaborative knowledge base.

Educators, leaders, citizens of the global world must be part of the challenge in order to facilitate this transformation. This process must include all those who are touched by education and that is all of us. We must all facilitate and lead education towards transformation. We must all take the lead to push towards the 21st Century skills that we know children and adults must have to grow themselves and the universe.

Every citizen needs to be involved in transforming the educational system. We must behave in such a way that we call the transformation forward and support it. We must believe that transformation will be positive for the greater good. We must come together as a collaborative community to transform education to create an ever-evolving human and humane world culture.

The questions from the chat follow:Please feel free to provide your thoughts to the questions!

Q1: What is Educational Transformation?

Q2: How do we build a system where people of all ages become lifelong learners?

Q3: How do each of us lead towards a transformational education for all citizens?

Q4: How can we behave in such a way that we call the transformation forward and support it?

Q5: How do we as leaders push towards the 21st Century skills that we know children and adults must have to be supported within schools and a globalized society?

Q6: What can we do as leaders to get involved in our communities at the local school level?

I will be the first to admit that I am not one to slow down or take a break even when injured or sick. I have no patience with my own frailties, yet the first to implore others to rest and heal. Sometimes, my body just forces me to stop ~ a debilitating migraine will shut me down after a stressful event. But often, I tough out the migraines, the sinus infections, the arthritis pain. I have learned how to cope with the regular discomforts. However, the sudden, unexpected and uncommon pains can stop me cold.

Thursday afternoon I was pedaling my ElliptiGO (http://www.elliptigo.com/) having a blast and getting an incredible workout. When the stoplight turned green, I pushed into the pedal and stood up at the same time to maintain my balance (there is no seat on this machine, so core muscles must engage). As I pushed down on the pedal, I realized it was in a higher gear than I was expecting. Either my force on the pedal would move me forward enough to keep my balance, or I would tip over in the middle of the very busy street! I pushed very hard and got rolling, but felt something in my back pull enough for me to think, “Uh-oh.”

As soon as I got off the ElliptiGO and began my cool-down walk, I knew it would be a painful few days. Friday was miserable and I went to the chiropractor for some relief. An adjustment, some ice, and a day off from exercising helped a little. But of course I decided on Saturday that I would try the ElliptiGO to see if I could get a little exercise. I knew I had to be prepared to stop if the pain dictated that because I didn’t really wish to be disabled for a long haul. I tentatively took my first few pedals and thought, “Okay, I can do this slowly.” I kept a consistent pace by using my gears and concentrated on going slowly, focusing on the various parts of my body that could be used to compensate for my painful back. I learned a few lessons that I think I can apply to leadership!

1) Sometimes it is okay to coast: Instead of pedaling fast on the downhills, I allowed myself to coast, stretching my back and legs out as I did. Instead of letting my mind take over, I paid attention to the moment ~ the birds, a grasshopper, a lifeless butterfly’s orange against the black asphalt. I caught some subtle details that might otherwise have been missed. I enjoyed the moment and all that it offered me. If leaders take a moment every day to “coast” and just BE with and in their organizations, the frenetic energy to pedal faster and harder ceases briefly. S/he can appreciate the work that others do around them. Leaders can take time to enjoy the fruits of others’ work AND their own work, recognizing how much each small slice contributes to the wellbeing of the whole.

2) It is important to gather support from different areas: Focusing on the actions my body took that wrenched my back, I began to experiment with other muscles and areas of my body that could support the activity AND take the stress off my injury. I found relief in altering my stance just a little, using the front muscles of my thighs to push, leaning differently on my arms. If a leader always counts on the same support systems, s/he loses the subtler but worthy support of a lesser used system. That lesser used system will atrophy and can lead to more injury later. Allowing a different support system to step up strengthens and balances the entire system to provide more growth and opportunity. It gives recognition to parts of the structure that are always working but may not be as noticeable.

3) When there is discord in one area it affects the function of the whole: As I focused on more of my body than just the spot that was painful, I realized that I held other areas differently. This would skew the rest of me and throw it out of whack, thus causing more injury. It affected my appetite, sleep, ability to get in and out of the car comfortably, etc. Finding the pockets of “injury” or discord in a system and working with that element to strengthen it, take the pressure off, or provide support and appreciation of will allow the rest of the system to find its equilibrium and recalibrate thus providing the renewed energy to grow. With added focus and guided encouragement, the spark of motivation and inspiration will light other segments in new dimensions.

Leaders look for their inspiration in everything: pain, joy, exercise, rest, beauty, nature, a moment of peace or of grief. Sharing those bits of inspiration by applying them to the system they lead is important. What small action, thought, event, natural gift has inspired you lately? What lesson can you take from that inspiration and pass on to your organization? How can you tweak your system to gain the most pain free benefit?

I have written many blog posts over the last three weeks as I have Harleyed along on my grand journey. I could have written 100 posts a day, except of course I was busy enjoying the events as life unfolded before me. One might think that because I had so much “head time” that I would be positively dripping with stories to tell and sage life lessons. I am; however, starting that process is of course the chore. Time to sit and think, ruminate, absorb, reflect is essential to really putting the essence of the experience into words that will share the lessons I learned. and that issue about work, sometimes it just gets in the way!

So, I will begin at the end of the journey, landing at home. After a 12.5 hour day on the Harley, we pulled into the garage. I looked at my Iron Steed of 3 weeks, covered in bug carcasses (probably the 20th layer of them) and spattered in road grime. I looked at the two loaded travel bags clinging to the back and covered by two old ponchos probably each about about 20 years old. The outer poncho was a day-glo orange so that we were visible from long distances. Three bungee cargo nets covered those. Rain gear and a bag of water topped the pile. There was nothing on that bike that I needed for the night. The first time in 21 days that I didn’t need to uncloak the Harley, and re-cloak her for the night.

I removed my helmet, also bug-spattered, goggles, head rag, neck bandana and gloves. I shed my vented jacket, every pocket full of essential tools and equipment, my leather chaps with a newly broken snap and so big on me now that they didn’t always keep the heat of the road and bike from my skin unless carefully adjusted as I sped along. I was glad to get my feet out of the boots that desperately needed new soles that would NOT slip on the pavement as I pushed the Iron Steed up to tollbooths, out of parking spots, or any other number of reasons one must “walk the bike.” I will have to weigh all the gear and see how much I actually wore on a daily basis because I always felt like I might drift away when I took off the gear. Tomorrow, I thought, I can wear shorts!

When getting ready for bed, I emptied the pockets of my jeans. Pockets for me are an absolute necessity, whether motorcycling across this amazing country or going to work, they serve an important function that I could not ever do without! I pulled out the small black pouch that held two sets of earphones. I had continually held out hope that I could listen to music as I motored my way through 6500 miles. Unfortunately, the wind rushing over my helmeted head prevented any of the three earphone possibilities from working effectively. So, I resorted to foam earplugs to prevent damage to my hearing and balance. The next thing that came out of a back pocket was a piece of paper with directions written down. It was one that I had taped to my fuel tank at some point along the way because I didn’t have enough fingers upon which to write every step. A well used bandana (they have millions of uses) came last from that one rear pocket.

In the next rear pocket, a collection of paper towels and napkins was pulled. The need to clean my visor, especially in the late afternoons and early evenings when the bugs are the worst, is ever-present. Not all places I might stop have wet squeegees to help me with that visor or paper towels to wet it down and dry it. I also stop along the way to have a snack of peanut butter, crackers and dried fruit. I need to clean my Leatherman knife before putting it back in my jacket. Hence, as I have access to them, I collect a few here and there. A business card provided by a friend to pass along to one of my daughters, a ferry ticket, and a hotel receipt all had been carefully stowed in that rear pocket.

In one front pocket I pulled out a caribeaner with a whistle attached, just in case my nasty-mean-black-leather-covered-self wasn’t scary enough, I could blow the whistle for help! An assortment of rocks came out: one I had pulled from the side of the road when I was stuck waiting for a tow due to a jammed throttle. It reminds me of Sheriff Brenda who helped me find a mechanic in the wilds of Wisconsin, of Ben who drove 2 hours to provide me a tow and was so careful with my Harley, of Joe who fixed the throttle in 10 minutes and charged me $20, and of Michelle from Florida on a trip with her 86 year-old mother to visit family, who helped me right my bike. One stone came from a campsite and it was just an odd enough stone that it caught my attention. Four stones were collected at Lake MacDonald after surviving a challenging yet glorious ride through Glacier National Park. Four sister stones are packed away in a baggie for my rock collecting soul sister, Mary Jo. Two pieces of Colorado turquoise come out, bought in Nederland, Colorado on a jaunt with my youngest daughter, who along with her oldest sister, has another. Six gas receipts with the amount of fuel purchased and the number of miles traveled since the previous gassing carefully written in order to figure mileage at my next overnight stop. In the final pocket, I find a few coins, some gum wrappers, and Chapstick.

What does this collection say? Not much and yet everything. It provides a glimpse into the working mind of one long-distance biker. It gives me a few moments of trip reflection as I rifle through the collection of “stuff” mostly gathered as I have traveled, some carried for all 6500 miles. It reminds me that I truly was able to live one thousand lifetimes each day. That at each juncture, I learned new things because I so often chose to be present in each moment. Floods of memories washed over me when I examined each piece I pulled from my jeans. The fresh scent of sweetgrass, sage, flowers, and freshly mown hay wafts through my olfactory memory. Cool air and hot sunshine caress my cheeks and exposed fingers in half-gloves. Feeling my cheeks dancing as the stress and tension of the previous year melted away. The flight of a hawk flashes through my mind, as it twists and turns its body to steer through the updrafts in sheer joy at flying. The camouflaged face and body of a lovely coyote next to the road watching me tool through Yellowstone after a particularly harrowing event, a doe with twin fawns grazing beside the road, the brilliant flash of a Western Bluebird, the billowing smoke from a Wyoming wildfire painted evermore crimson in the sunset all bulldozed me as I set out my pocket treasures.

We all have pockets, both real and figurative. What I keep in my pants pockets tip my mind pockets which spill essential essences of living life into my present moment so that they anchor me with roots yet let me soar with my wings, and live another 1000 lifetimes in a day.

Inspiration. The word itself stems from the Middle English term: ” divine guidance” and means to be mentally stimulated to feel or do something, especially something creative. From where does inspiration come? Does is come from outside of us? Can we only be touched BY something to be inspired? How do people inspire us?

I hear many folks extol the virtues of someone who inspires them. Businesses look for an inspirational speaker for conferences. Schools look for inspirational speakers for staff and students. Everyone looks for inspirational quotes, sights, trips, jobs, people, etc. The real inspiration? It comes from within. It burns inside each of us all the time. We have it to access whenever we choose. Why is it that we have become so reliant on “outside of self stimulus” to set it free.

The total inspirational package does indeed exist. It exists within each one of us. We can create inspiration, enjoy inspiration, provide inspiration. We must open the door to it. Adversity can provide inspiration as much as awe can. It takes but a tiny spark to ignite a passionate bonfire of inspiration within. If we rely on inspiration from outside of ourselves, that inspiration is not sustainable once the catalyst is removed. Certainly that catalyst can start a fire within, and it is up to us to feed that fire with our own fuel.
A small spark can come from outside, in fact everything and anything can be inspirational ~ a train whistle, a great speaker, a problem needing a solution, a woman’s laugh, a tipped Harley ~ but the real catalyst, the real fire is within. Channeled well, it can be life-altering.

A skilled leader nurtures the growth of others’ inspiration and supports them as they fan their own flame. In order to ignite the internal fire of inspiration, any leader needs to know the strengths of the people they lead. They need to know the passions that lie within each colleague; sometimes seeing hints of passions that an individual may not know exist. The leader must establish honest and respectful relationships with their colleagues. Using these relationships to kindle strengths and support growth in areas of need will ultimately create the inner fire of inspiration.

Each of us is a spinner of exquisitely colored and unique threads representing our lives. The leader recognizes how those threads can weave together to create a tapestry that, though made of different strands, creates another whole picture. Each thread offers something special to each other thread and a good leader understands how to interlace those individual threads so that inspiration is self-generating and the tapestry becomes fluid, breathing a culture of inspiration from which everyone benefits, including the leader.

The leader’s job is not to be the constant flame of inspiration but an equal participant in the tapestry’s creation by sharing what has inspired them. It is important too for a leader to accept inspiration from his/her colleagues so they are opened to greater inspiration thus encouraging a climate of stimulated growth and creation. The leader helps others connect to fuel their own inspiration or ignite a new passion.

It is truly an inspirational leader that can be the artist that passes the shuttle expertly through the loom, pulling myriad threads into one ever-undulating canvas.

These are my remarks for this group of Eighth Graders as they move to become the freshman class of Colchester High School 2012.

Eighth graders, before I give you the final few words, I would like to ask you to do something. Please stand. Turn to face your family and teachers. These are folks who have believed in you and decided that you matter so much they are willing to do whatever it takes to give you roots to be safely grounded to home and wings to let you fly free to find your hearts’ desires. Offer them a moment of gratitude with a round of applause. Thank you. Please be seated.

I have been thinking a lot lately about courage and heroes. Courage is defined as: the ability to do something that frightens one and: strength in the face of pain or grief. A hero is: a person…

These are my remarks for this group of Eighth Graders as they move to become the freshman class of Colchester High School 2012.

Eighth graders, before I give you the final few words, I would like to ask you to do something. Please stand. Turn to face your family and teachers. These are folks who have believed in you and decided that you matter so much they are willing to do whatever it takes to give you roots to be safely grounded to home and wings to let you fly free to find your hearts’ desires. Offer them a moment of gratitude with a round of applause. Thank you. Please be seated.

I have been thinking a lot lately about courage and heroes. Courage is defined as: the ability to do something that frightens one and: strength in the face of pain or grief. A hero is: a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

I thought about how I would act if I knew someone were looking up to me as a hero. (I think about strange things when I run~actually many times). Who would look up to me as a hero and why? That made me think about my heroes. Why are they my heroes and did I truly know their hearts? Their courageous hearts? Some of my heroes, like yours, I have never met. Some I know VERY well. And many, I greet nearly every day as they file through the doors of CMS with, “Good Morning! Please remove your hats and hoods. Thank you!.”

Yes, each one of you is my hero. Did you know that? Did you know that I am awed by your courage? Did you know that I admire you and believe in you? Did you know that YOU MATTER? Yes you matter, to me, to your families, to your teachers, and to each other. Each of you faces challenges EVERY DAY! Some face pain and grief EVERY DAY. For some of you getting out of bed takes every ounce of courage. But you do it. You show up for CMS, for life EVERY DAY. And because of that courage that you display, EVERY DAY~ Strength in the face of pain, grief or fear, YOU do what needs to be done. You all have great courage and strong courageous hearts. That looks different for EACH one of you. Look at the kid sitting next to you. You don’t know what she or he faces that is scary or hard or painful or sad. But she or he faces something that is a challenge every day and is my hero. I admire each one of you for having the courage to get up, come to school, share a laugh or two with friends, learn something at school, face issues that many adults never have to deal with, and still have energy to support your friends and care about each other.

Here is the take away: YOU MATTER! Who you are matters ~ to me; and maybe someone you don’t know thinks you are special. You can make a difference and you do make a difference every minute of every day. You are strong, stronger than you think. Stronger than they think. You are my heroes. So, take care of each other. You might be someone’s hero. Someone who is sitting next to you or watching from a distance. Take care of each other for the next four years and beyond. And if you need a booster~you know where I am and I will remind you that you are my hero, you matter, you are courageous!

And now, students please rise. Principal Minor, May I proudly present my courageous eighth grade students, my heroes, for acceptance as the Colchester High School Class of 2016.

Recently I was nominated for the Beautiful Blogger Award by Candace Gendron (http://candaceg222), one of my twitter buddies with whom I share several passions: Education, Teaching, Learning, Spirituality, Living in the Moment. We connect regularly in several tweetchats. I appreciate her wisdom and intellect and was very honored to have received this award. In doing so, I have agreed to pass it along to seven others whose blogs I enjoy and find fulfilling in a beautiful sense. Thank you Candace!

Another twitter buddy, with whom I share the same several chats as I do with Candace is Martina McGowan. Her blog “Believe in God and Act As If…” (http://www.martinamcgowan.com) is one that I enjoy as the ideas presented provide me with food for thought. The ideas she presents are ones that can be examined in many ways and under many umbrellas. The beauty of the Human Spirit is evident in her work.

Kumud Ajmani of #spiritchat twitter fame, offers such gentle and poignant posts and chats on his Spiritchat Blog at http://spiritchat.tumblr.com/. The conversations that occur in the Sunday morning chats bring a wide range and diversity of spiritual ideas to the table. The positive nature of Kumud’s blog and tweetchats just keep the sun shining all week!

Amy Oscar, moderator of #soulcall on Sunday mornings writes anther blog that stirs my spirit and gets me thinking outside the normal every day realm of normal thought. She writes a thought-provoking blog at http://amyoscar.com/. Her thoughts spark ideas and mind meanderings, uncovering the beauty that we each hold.

Dan Rockwell at http://wp.me/JAk6 Leadership Freak writes a terrific blog aimed of course at Leadership. His thoughtful essays always contain insightful, beautiful and valuable tips on leadership and places to find more resources for leaders interested in growth. Dan’s blog has provided me with many ideas to improve my own leadership skills.

I enjoy several education blogs which provide me with professional and personal growth, as well as new thoughts about education. Chris Wejr writes one (http://chriswejr.com/) and has often offered a poignancy that touches a tender chord. How he parents twin girls and leads a school and finds time to write a great blog, I don’t know! But it is beautiful indeed.

Powerful Learning Practice is another blog that offers a variety of insights and thoughtful posts on education. It has some beautifully powerful ideas worth exploring and talking about. You can find it here http://plpnetwork.com/blog/.

Marjory Mejia of Awakening Sacred Flow (http://marjorymejia.com/category/writings/) writes about inspirational and spiritually stimulating ideas. Her outlook is positive, refreshing and uplifting. It usually offers me some time to relax my shoulders and take a deep breath to enjoy the beauty of the present moment.

Fierce Wisdom by Satya Colombo (http://satyacolombo.com/the-moment/) has us following Satya’s self-actualizing and life’s meaning journey, and his constant work to teach all the benefits of Flow. He writes with heart, taking us into his quest for meaning. Descriptions provide beautiful images of Central America as he lives his dream.

Perhaps you will find a few of these blogs as enlightening or interesting or beautiful as I have. For those of you who have been nominated please pass the honor along to others! If you choose to accept this award, copy and paste the award icon to your blog, provide a link to the one who nominated you, then nominate seven blogs that you would like to recognize, and let them know that you have nominated them.

May you all find wonder in the ordinary and continue to be awed by simple beauty!

What is best practice? Being in education, a great deal of attention is paid to “Best Practice.” What I find so intriguing is that “Best Practice” changes. Data-driven instruction is a current “Best Practice.” But what if my data is wrong? There are others, but doesn’t “BEST” imply just one which is THE BEST? Who decides what is “Best Practice”? And is it BEST for all students in all schools in all states and all grades of all cultures? Does it work for all teachers? All administrators?

I believe that best practice can be different in different classrooms, different districts, different states, different schools, and with different teachers. It might depend on the teacher, or the neighborhood, or the make-up of the particular population, or myriad other things. What works for me in teaching students what they need to be successful is my “Best Practice”. What works for Julie, or Sue, or Ian, or Pat may be different. Subject matter will drive instruction as well as teacher personalities. Delivery matters, reception matters. What criteria is used to determine “Best Practice”? Who decides what criteria a practice must fulfill in order to be considered BEST? Is there a rubric that is followed to determine BEST?

Each time a new “Best Practice” comes along, there is the oooohing and aaaaahing over the sparkly shiny newness of it. Everyone wants to be close to it, to show how well it fits them. It is important to examine any new idea, practice or method critically before assigning it the title of “Best Practice”. Every “Best Practice” has elements that demand attention and adoption or adaptation. Every “Best Practice” has threads that are thinner and less sturdy. By looking at the elements which make up a “Best Practice” one can tease out those threads that are robust and full and should be added to one’s toolbox. The threads that aren’t helpful in holding a “Best Practice” together should be thrown out or altered to support the best parts of the practice.

Many times when a new practice comes along, it is truly an evolution or conglomeration of other “Best Practices”. This isn’t a bad thing! I think the more times a past “Best Practice” is mutated into a newer version is a testament to its “Bestness”. Each “Best Practice” like any practice should always be examined critically and used judiciously. “Best Practice” should not be limiting and yet it often is. Too often we are caught up in the newness or “bestness” of the practice and let go of practices that are solid, time-proven, and just good for kids. Our practices should always always have students at the heart of them. If adopting a “Best Practice” does not fit the teacher, it will hold them back, deplete their kid-heart energy and not live up to the superlative of “BEST”. Best Practice can only be as good or as best as the situation and people allow. Many “Best Practices” have been thrown by the wayside and yet still have much gold in them. It is incombent upon educational leaders to support “Best Practice” within the context of: environment, teacher, grade, culture, individual students, the heartbeat of the school, its students, and its vision. Supply all the tools available and never give up working to help all find the best fit for them as well as growing that fit over time and through “New Best Practices”.

This gives me pause to consider that perhaps a toolbox of “Good Practices” is enough. Collect them, examine them, take them apart and retool them, mix the pieces and parts, try them out. There is no one practice that is best for all. Practices should continue to grow and mutate, build on themselves, and openly steal from others. All in the name of what is great for getting the lesson or message across.